1. Field
Example aspects of the present invention generally relate to a method and apparatus for configuring network entities. More particularly, example aspects of the present invention relate to using a graphical user interface incorporating a template to automate the configuration of network entities with a network management system and a template handler that implements the business logic.
2. Related Art
One or more network management systems may reside in between networks or on any given network. Network management systems are a combination of hardware and software components used to monitor, control, and configure network participants. Each network participant communicates with the network using a network entity called a network interface. Hereinafter, network participants will be referred to as network elements.
Network elements can reside within a network or across several different networks and can include, but are not limited to, routers, access servers, switches, bridges, hubs, computer hosts, and printers. Network elements collect and store information available to network management systems using agents.
An agent is a network management software module that resides in a network element and has local knowledge of management information. The agent translates the local management information into a form that is compatible with a network management system so that the network management system may use the network element's local information. The agent can also receive management information, such as configuration requests, from the network management system.
Network entities can constitute the network elements themselves or components of network elements such as network cards, ports, channels, or interfaces. It is often necessary in industries, such as the telecommunications industry, to configure various network entities for different protocols to accommodate changes in a network. For example, it might be necessary to configure network entities for different multi-service interfaces such as IP, MPLS, PPP/POS, HDLC, ATM, EoS (X.86), GFP, and TDM. However, making such configuration changes is often time consuming and error-prone due to the large number of network entities on a given network.
Network entities are traditionally configured individually by an administrator with a command line interface on the network elements or with a craft terminal provided by a network management system. This manual process can be error-prone due to the large number of entries required at the command line interface for each network entity. The process of configuring each network entity individually is also time consuming, especially when there are a large number of network entities. Many of these network entities often require similar configurations.
Network entities can also be configured by writing and executing scripts. Scripts are written by an administrator to make configuration changes and are interpreted by a computer program one command at a time. Administrators often repetitively copy, paste, and execute scripts for configuring similar network entities. Like the manual process of configuring network entities individually at a command line terminal, scripting is also time consuming and error-prone. The scripting approach requires time to write and execute each script and also requires administrators to check the configuration of the network entity after a script is executed.